Coconut oil...And Dekker eats salad!

I remembered to take a picture at the last minute- so sorry it's not the best, I had to do with what was left.

The outside night menue:
Sweet potatoes with mashed in coconut butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar.
Mesquite Salmon grilled on a Cedar plank (my favorite way to prepare salmon!)
Garden salad

Did you know that coconut oil is good for you?! I love those good fats and oils. Did you know you can use it in place of butter on sweet potatoes and its FABULOUS?!

I recently picked up some Vidalia Sweet Onion dressing from Costco. It's pretty dang tasty in wraps, cold pasta salads, as a dressing on sandwiches, and on salads. Seriously, you know it must be good when your four year old eats his serving of salad and then asks for a second helping! He also commented on the hard boiled eggs, which I don't always put in- so I was taking mental notes.

And do yourself a favor- find some mesquite seasoning, heavily sprinkle it on some fresh salmon, then grill it on a cedar plank. Even if you haven't liked fish in the past, you just might "mmm" and "ahhh" over it!

Sunday Dinner

I've realized I need to start posting pictures with my recipes. I always find recipes more interesting when there's a picture attached. With my mom being a food-stylist and all, you think I would have realized this from the get-go. So I will try to post more photos from now on.

Last night's dinner was a HUGE hit with my husband, not so much with my kids. They ate the Quinoa dish, and a few artichoke leaves, but weren't too fond of the stuffed mushrooms. Jake on the other hand thought he'd died and gone to heaven! You can't win them all I guess.

Last night's menu:

Steamed artichoke with balsamic dipping sauce or garlic butter dipping sauce
Quinoa with tomatoes and chickpeas ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-with-Chickpeas-and-Tomatoes/Detail.aspx )
Stuffed mushrooms ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/mouth-watering-stuffed-mushrooms/Detail.aspx )

Ah Quinoa!

Quinoa- the versatile grain (like rice), easy to digest, a rare plant complete protein, good source of fiber, gluten free, and high in iron. Buy it! Eat it! Love it!

Pic-nic-friendly Salmon Quinoa salad

4 cups prepared quinoa and finely chopped carrots
(I threw quinoa and carrots in my rice maker with a little olive oil, sea salt and water)

3-4 handfuls Sauteed Spinach
(coat a pan with olive oil, sauté garlic for flavor then toss in spinach till "wilted")

1 large Cooked filet Salmon, flaked)
(I marinated mine in 1/2 c. pineapple juice, 2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp tsp soy sauce, 1/4 tsp ground ginger and then baked in foil 10 min each side)

Combine together and serve either warm, or refrigerate and serve cold. Tastes great either way! I packed this to the park one evening and everyone gobbled it up.

A "healthy cookie"

I wanted to make some Almond Butter cookies for our road trip this weekend. I scoured the internet and found some good ones- I combined a couple and came up with this recipe. They turned out really yummy!

Oatmeal Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (now THAT's a mouthful)
Preheat oven to 350*
Whisk 3 min:
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. coconut oil (at room temp)
1/2 c. Almond butter
1/2 c. cane sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp molasses
Add:
1 egg
1/2 c. rolled oats
Sift together then add to wet mixture:
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Stir in:
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup regular chips or chunked dark chocolate
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used pecans)

Press into rounded balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes. Let cool. Enjoy!